Sarutobi Hiruzen Had Completely Lost His Mind!

Fugaku was, after all, the current head of the Uchiha Clan. No matter how dissatisfied the Uchiha ninja behind him were, faced with their clan head's stern tone, they could only fall silent.

"Lord Danzo."

Before turning to leave with a tense expression, Fugaku said in a slightly heavy voice, "The Uchiha Clan has no other intentions toward the village. There is no need for the village to keep distrusting the Uchiha Clan so much."

With that said.

Without waiting for Danzo to speak, Fugaku clenched his teeth and turned away, leaving Danzo only with his gradually receding back.

Fugaku sighed inwardly.

He knew that he had backed down once again, and in front of so many clan members at that... This time, his retreat might even leave Uchiha Chisen isolated and helpless.

But Fugaku felt that if he did not back down, the relationship between the village and the Uchiha would be beyond saving.

The village already distrusted the Uchiha Clan.

If they got into an armed conflict with the Root Ninja now...

Would the Uchiha Clan still be able to remain in Konoha?

"I'm sorry, Chisen..." Fugaku raised his head to look at the full moon in the sky and murmured, "I'm doing this for the greater good too. As long as the Uchiha Clan can continue living peacefully alongside the village, I alone will bear whatever disgrace comes with it."

Fugaku felt that he saw things clearly.

The Uchiha Clan might appear strong, but compared to the entire village, they were merely trying to stop a chariot with a mantis's arms.

"I'm only doing this to protect the Uchiha Clan."

The guilt in his eyes faded somewhat.

"Hmph. Uchiha..." Danzo's eyes grew increasingly sinister, but he had not lost his mind enough to forcibly keep Fugaku behind.

"Lord Danzo, the Hokage and the others have returned!" Just then, a Root Ninja suddenly reminded him.

Danzo froze. "So soon?!"

He had only waited a few minutes when he saw Sarutobi Hiruzen returning to Konoha with a group of Anbu Ninja.

"Hmm?"

Danzo suddenly noticed that something was wrong, because many Anbu Ninja had returned carrying "corpses" on their backs.

Even Monkey was holding a "corpse" in his arms.

So many corpses!

Under the moonlight, his gaze swept over one body after another, yet he did not find the hateful face he most wanted to see.

Most of these corpses were dressed as Anbu Ninja, while some appeared to be research personnel.

And every one of them had died in a horrifying manner! Many bodies did not even have all their parts, scattered into a ghastly mess.

Danzo could also smell the faint scent of something burnt.

"Hiruzen, where is Uchiha Chisen?!" Danzo furrowed his brow deeply and demanded impatiently.

Sarutobi Hiruzen lifted his eyelids and glanced at Danzo.

Yet without saying a word, he walked straight past Danzo. He did not even acknowledge a single Root Ninja, treating them all as though they were air.

Danzo's anger rose at once.

"Hiruzen!"

"Lord Danzo." At that moment, an Anbu Ninja suddenly stepped in front of Danzo and said quietly, "The Hokage has just suffered the pain of losing a son. Please do not disturb him."

Lost a son?

Danzo's pupils contracted slightly.

Did that mean the dead man in Monkey's arms was Sarutobi Shinosuke? Monkey's eldest son had died? Killed by Uchiha Chisen?

Danzo's breathing became a little hurried.

That was a blood feud, wasn't it? Monkey must have been so enraged that he had ordered the Anbu Ninja to surround and kill Uchiha Chisen, right?

"As for Uchiha Chisen..." the Anbu Ninja hesitated before continuing, "He left the Secret Research Base. He should already be back in the village. Perhaps he found it troublesome and went straight over the village wall instead of taking the long way around to the main gate?"

Danzo suddenly went blank.

"What do you mean?"

His sinister eyes were full of disbelief. His emotions surged so violently that even the expression on his aged face nearly broke apart. Danzo gritted his teeth and demanded hatefully, "You mean... Hiruzen let that innately evil Uchiha brat go? Even after that evil Uchiha killed his eldest son?"

"Yes." The Anbu Ninja gave a simple reply.

Danzo was dumbfounded.

He knew that Monkey had grown old, that he no longer possessed the ambition of his younger days and had become indecisive.

But he had never expected that, even in the face of the murder of his own son, that bastard Monkey would still be this indecisive!

How could he let his son's killer go?

Was he some kind of saint?!

"Hiruzen!" Danzo could no longer contain his emotions. His face was so dark that he nearly cursed aloud, but he ultimately forced himself to endure it, only shouting at Sarutobi Hiruzen's back, "What the hell are you thinking?! That innately evil Uchiha brat killed your son! He killed so many Anbu Ninja too! Are you really going to keep that kind of menace in the village?!"

Danzo could not understand!

Sarutobi Hiruzen's steps paused slightly.

"This old man..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen clenched his teeth so hard that dark blood seeped from his gums. He lowered his head, staring at Sarutobi Shinosuke's face in his arms.

"This old man... is protecting Shinosuke's final Will of Fire. He did not wish to see the village exhaust its strength through internal strife before any external enemy had even invaded."

"This was his final wish."

"This old man..." Sarutobi Hiruzen took a deep breath. "Must fulfill his final wish for him. And Uchiha Chisen... Uchiha Chisen did not... kill the wrong person—that was what Shinosuke said as well."

Danzo listened with his eyes wide, wondering whether he had grown old too and developed a problem with his hearing.

He felt that Sarutobi Shinosuke, who had been killed by Uchiha Chisen, had gone mad!

Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had suffered the pain of losing his son, had gone mad too!

Damn it...

Were there any normal people left in Konoha?

Elsewhere.

Izumi, who had followed Uchiha Chisen back to the village, once more dragged her exhausted body toward the Uchiha Clan compound. Along the way, she and Uchiha Chisen had gone their separate ways.

"Ah! I'm so tired..."

Walking down the dim street, Izumi felt as though there was nothing left to live for.

She was exhausted both physically and mentally.

She could not count how many people Senior Chisen had killed tonight. Especially at the moment that wave of magma rain fell, perhaps only a handful of people in that Secret Research Base had survived?

And even the Hokage's eldest son had been killed by Senior Chisen.

Was this [Absolute Justice]...

Even the Hokage's eldest son could not receive special treatment in the face of justice.

"This... may be why, no matter how tired I am, I still grit my teeth and strive to follow behind Senior?"

Izumi was talking to herself.

But then, she nearly ran headlong into a tall figure.

Fortunately, she reacted quickly and hurriedly stopped.

Then she quickly took two steps back.

When she hurriedly looked up, Izumi froze and blurted out, "Clan Head Fugaku?"

Fugaku was also stunned. He recognized this Uchiha girl.

"Izumi?"

Fugaku suddenly thought of something. "Has Chisen returned?"

Izumi quickly answered, "Senior Chisen should already be home."

"...I see!" Fugaku felt a weight lift from his heart.

Chisen had returned alive.

Fugaku felt somewhat guilty again.

At the same time.

After returning home, Uchiha Chisen turned his attention to the final "inheritance" left to him by his former Jonin instructor, Sarutobi Shinosuke—the "reward" dropped for killing a Red Name villain.